


written in the stars

by garbagereynolds



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Angst, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, I Will Go Down With This Ship, Immortality talks, One Shot, The Doctor Spills His Feelings, i miss them :(, or I guess not a lot of comfort :/, short and sweet, soft
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-04
Updated: 2020-03-04
Packaged: 2021-02-23 08:29:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 913
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23008618
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/garbagereynolds/pseuds/garbagereynolds
Summary: She let a small smile reach her lips before she shut her eyes tight and shook her head. “This you can’t fix.”“‘Course I can,” he said, letting his voice perk up, a grin forming. “I’mTheDoctor; I can do anything.”She turned her head, still resting on her knee, and finally made eye contact.“I’m going to die one day.”The grin fell from his face and he raised his eyebrows. “Well.” He scratched his head and shrugged. “Yeah. Just like everyone else.”“And you’re not.”Oh.
Relationships: Tenth Doctor/Rose Tyler
Comments: 4
Kudos: 48





	written in the stars

**Author's Note:**

> Hey y’all! I wrote this a while ago and it’s just been sitting in my drafts, so I figured I might as well get it out.  
> I hope the formatting is ok! I’m posting on mobile since my laptop finally kicked the bucket (🥺), so please let me know if there’s any issues! This will likely eventually be part of a longer fic (with a happy ending!) so look out for that maybe? Enjoy!

She was sitting cross-legged on the floor of the TARDIS, the doors wide open in front of her exposing the colourful nebula they were currently parked beside. The Doctor stared at the back of her head a while, watching her watch, not wanting to disturb her peace; he then noticed, however, that her shoulders were slumped, and she was absentmindedly picking at her nails. She only did that when something was weighing on her mind.  
He approached quietly, hands in his pockets.  
She looked up at him slightly when he reached her side, and the look on her face made his hearts stop; she looked worn down. Weathered.  
He wasn’t used to that.  
Rose scooted over so he could sit comfortably beside her, crossing his own legs, and she brought her knee up to rest her chin atop of it.  
She seemed very interested in the toe of her shoe, staring fixedly with sad eyes.  
“How can I help,” the Doctor asked softly, staring at her side profile.  
She let a small smile reach her lips before she shut her eyes tight and shook her head. “This you can’t fix.”  
“‘Course I can,” he said, letting his voice perk up, a grin forming. “I’m _The_ Doctor; I can do anything.”  
She turned her head, still resting on her knee, and finally made eye contact.  
“I’m going to die one day.”  
The grin fell from his face and he raised his eyebrows. “Well.” He scratched his head and shrugged. “Yeah. Just like everyone else.”  
“And you’re not.”  
_Oh._  
_This_ talk. He’d been avoiding it successfully thus far; the thought of their incompatible lifespans had plagued him for a very long time. Ever since their first encounter in the shop basement, if he was being honest with himself.  
“I will, eventually. Regeneration doesn’t go on forever.”  
She turned her face back away from him toward the open doors. “Okay. Probably about a million billion years after me, though.”  
He turned to look outside as well, at a loss for words. She was right, though it killed him to acknowledge it. He often thought that this match, this cosmic fate, was somehow penance for the things he had done in the past; the universe, in its own sick and beautiful way, had sent him his soulmate, and with her it promised him one of his most painful endings yet.  
“Count yourself lucky,” he finally said after a long pause. “I’m the one being left behind.”  
She widened her eyes, startled to hear him say something so raw and honest. She was used to him skirting around sensitive subjects; maybe saying a few words of comfort, before jumping to a new topic and rapid firing off random facts until she had forgotten about the whole thing.  
There was no skirting around or forgetting this. It was inevitable.  
The Doctor then saw a tear roll down her cheek, and before she even had the chance to wipe it away, he scooted closer to her side and had his arm around her shoulders. She nestled her head into the space between his chin and shoulder; it was cool due to his strange physiology, and it was a welcome feeling on her burning face.  
“Sorry,” she mumbled, her face a deep red from embarrassment. “‘S stupid-“  
He cut her off “No. Not stupid.” He let there be another pause before he said anything again; he knew how uncomfortable she got about crying in front of him.  
He finally spoke again, breaking the silence.  
“I’m...sorry. I wish there was a way I could fix this.”  
She sniffed and sat up again, rubbing her eyes and softly smiling. “It can’t be helped. Not your fault. Just...try your best not to forget me, yeah?”  
“How could I?”  
“A million billion years is a long time.”  
He scoffed. “Since when does time mean anything to us?”  
A proper grin returned to her face, her tongue peeking from between her teeth as she did so.  
The Doctor removed his arm from around her shoulders, and she could almost feel him shrinking back into himself again; he was not often this open with his feelings, and she decided she had to act fast before he decided to flee from the intimacy.  
“Do you believe in soulmates?”  
He almost jumped a little, a startled look coming onto his face. He then stared at her profile, studying every inch of her face, his mind going into overdrive trying to come up with something he could say. Something comforting but distant.  
It was then, he decided, that they were perhaps past the point of no return as far as distance goes- he found it very hard to believe she didn’t already know how he felt about her.  
“Before? No. But now I suppose I must.”  
There was nothing but silence, neither of them really willing to say anything to ruin the moment. It was rather peaceful, just then, the only sound a low hum that the TARDIS was emitting, and a slight crackling noise coming from the nebula in front of them.  
They were both staring out the doors again when Rose reached over to set her hand beside his. Their fingertips barely touching, the tension was palpable- they remained still, not looking at each other, the three hearts between them racing.  
It was The Doctor who finally broke the silence. “We’re written in the stars, you and me. They won’t forget us. And neither will I.” 


End file.
